The following comes from a May 9 Edhat article:
As Junipero Serra is schedule to become a Catholic Saint, many Native Americans, including the Chumash, oppose the sainthood claiming a misrepresentation of mission history.
The pope is scheduled to proclaim the Spaniard a saint during his first U.S. visit to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 23.
The American Indian Movement of Southern California (AIMSC) disagrees with the sainthood of Serra. “Many of the Native peoples were forced into slave labor and lived in the compounds of the mission sites, used to develop the structures and then breathe life into them. It’s also long been known that uncountable numbers of Natives were held against their will…” states the AIMSC in a recent press release.
“The Vatican’s decision to canonize Junipero Serra validates the genocide of California Indians. We cannot ever forget our ancestors, and the truth shall be heard. Our truth is our light of healing and moving toward self determination,” stated Marcus Lopez , Sr., Barbareno Chumash Tribal ‘Iyalmumic Council.
In opposition of the Pope’s plans, the Barbareno Chumash Tribal ‘lyalmuwic Council and the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation will lead a weekend of cultural reverence and resistance to the notion of Serras’ Canonization; highlighted by a ceremony to honor the more than 4,000 ancestors who lost their lives who are buried in a mass grave site.
The ceremony will be outside the Santa Barbara Mission, May 31.
This is totally ridiculous ! The liberals are re writing history. There may have been some abuses, but they were few and far between. Since Catholicism arrived, the Indians have been much better off. Remember, they had not invented or discovered the wheel. They practiced human sacrifices, and from what I have read, they also burned down many forests. The Spanish padres gave them the gift of the Catholic faith, and converted them from their pagan idols. How dare they revolt against the hand that fed them with the Body of Christ !
It’s not liberal, it’s not conservative. It’s the facts. If you actually read what the Fathers actually wrote, it becomes evident that the California Pastorale is a fiction. Writings of Father Junipero Serra – Volumes 1-4 would suffice, but there are many, many more documents that make it clear the history we teach is a fiction.
Well, I will keep the Chumash position on Blessed Junipero Serra in mind the next time I am in the Santa Ynez Valley (just outside of Solvang) and am driving by and not stopping off at the Chumash Casino.
Yes, that’s true. Also, according to our archivist at San Juan Capistrano Mission who researched this himself, the injustices were committed by the Spaniard solders – not the missionaries. Liberals should check their sources.
While I don’t believe Fr. Karl is a priest I agree with the sentiments. My ancestors were the Indians that benefitted from the Spanish evangelization. Many of these so called Indians do not speak for us Catholic Native Americans. They come from all corners of the map just to cause havoc. The true Natives loved the Padre and wept at his death. Was the system bad? To some yes. For what was St. Junipero responsible? I think for working too hard and dying too young. He sacrificed his health and now he’s considered a slave driver. We need to stop this revisionist idiocy. Study the facts and you will fall in love with the person of St. Junipero. I know not yet canonized but I anticipate the fact to emphasize the reality. St. Junipero lover of the Indian nations…pray for us!
Mooknino, I am a real priest. I am a priest forever. Your relatives might have been INDIANS, but when they die, they cease being whatever nationality they were. Quit judging people; it is old hat, but for you LIBERALS, it is a daily cause !
Fr. Karl, not all Native Indian tribes practiced human sacrifice. Some did, some did not. Perhaps this is to which Monknino disagrees. We should not put all tribes in one basket. Some were closer to Christian teaching than others. After all, our own European tribes, clans and so forth did not practice the same vices and virtues as all other tribes and clans before they were Christianized and even now. Just a thought. Monknino and you can surely correct me if I am wrong.
How dare Mookino question a priest. I know Father Karl is a priest, but I do not know if Mookino is male, female, or a machine, or even all three. The left gets its jollies by being mean to those it disagrees with, and because of their pride, will often yield to ridicule or attacks against the person. Not all tribes practiced human sacrifice, but they were pagan, and in need of evangelization. To deny this, one puts himself against Christ and His command to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Church today teaches that all are saved, and that baptism is not necessary, so a can of worms has been opened, while conversions to the Catholic Church have fallen off. We need missionaries right now who have the zeal to convert and win souls for Christ. They must also be courageous enough to ignore the folly of the world which teaches that there is no life after death.
Herman, Neither Mookino nor I said that the missionaries did not need to evangelize, In fact he seems to have agreed that they should have done so. I just wrote that we (all of us not just Fr. Karl) need to be careful to distinguish between the behavior among the tribes. Perhaps Mookino was from a tribe that did not do such things and were easier to evangelize, and he took offense. I do not know. That ends my discussion of it as I, too, meant no offense to either Fr. karl nor Mookino..
About a year ago, a left winged liberal attacked the integrity of Father Karl. Ken Fisher stated that he knew the priest, and that stopped the gossip for a while. Then some newcomers began the attacks again. Hey, this is supposed to be a fairly conservative Catholic blog. But time and time again, when those who are light in the loafers get their feelings hurt, they begin to sling mud. This is a scandal. Keep your mean spirited comments to yourself, and cease with the hissey fits. They are unbecoming to a Christian, let alone a Catholic. The manager of calcatholic instructs us to be civil, and not to resort to offensive and libelous language. Well, how much plainer can that be. Stop insulting those with whom you disagree. Reading the comments should be an educational exercise, and not one that raises one’s blood pressure. Someday, when you are dying, and need a priest, the one that might be called will be the same one you maligned by writing uncharitably about him. Ave Maria Purrissima !
When we read the Bible, especially Genesis, we learn that Adam and Eve were our first parents. In other words, we are all related to each other. Now, when we trace our families back far enough, we discover that the only Christians who did not convert from paganism were the ones that were Jewish. So, most Catholics whose families came from Europe were related to pagans who worshipped Thor, or Caesar, or some other man made deity. Do we Catholics pay homage to these pagan gods? I surely hope not. Because of inculturation , the Church today has placed values on many pagan themes which have deadened Christian practices. However, since my relatives and I, and most Catholics, do not adhere to pagan worship and practices, why should those who converted to Christianity within the past century, not abandon the pagan, and put on Christian values. Some of these same people enjoy complaining that their ancestors were treated badly. Well, get a life. Quit harping on the past. I am sure everyone has some gripe against some other nationality that happened YESTERDAY. Well, it is today, and how are you living the present moment? Be concerned about saving your soul. Our Lord said, ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God’. Stop thinking about how terrible certain people may have been. Vengeance is mine says the Lord. We must live our lives as Catholics because if we expect to be forgiven for our sins, we must forgive others.
If Adam and Eve were really our biological parents, then their offspring (2 males, Cain and Able) had to beget children, presumably via Eve. Is this morally OK?
No. With their sisters. And if something is necessary it is not immoral.
I am a catholic chicana from the Los Angeles area, who was Catholic Youth of the Year for the archdiocese. I had the pleasure of meeting Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. I used to work for Catholic Charities and have worked with chicano & indigenous peoples for years. I am one of many catholics who oppose the canonization of Serra. As we look to our own commandments, thou shall not steal, kill, covet and lie. As we are called to honor our mother & father, and all our relatives, I can’t help but be saddened by the lack of recognition & acknowledgement for how these same commandments were ignored when it came to the indigenous people of this land. The canonization of Serra, especially without the required miracles is yet another…
Write to: the Pope with copies to the US Papal Nuncio, and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican – asap.
Provide documentation for your position.
Father. If you are indeed a Priest as you claim, politics (“Left” OR “Right) are both in conflict with the position of the church, and the Pop himself. This is the BEST possible reason I can point to for the clear separation of Church and State. There is no denying history, as we are living the results. It doesn’t matter if the person was saintly or otherwise, the damage has been done. I would read up on history, starting with Junipero Serra’s own diaries if I were in your shoes. Some of us “Indians” refused to be “Neophytes” and the slave labor of Natives is hardly a cornered market by your revered Catholicism. It IS true, that Catholic means universal. I am Sicangu Lakota, even after I pass on, I will still have been, and…
I am a former friar who lived at Santa Barbara mission in the 1960s. I have many friends in the Franciscan order who are opposed to the canonization of Fray Junipero Serra as I am. His complicity and his orders to flog Indians even for minor infractions are well known. He even supplied shackles to Captain Moncada and sent Indians to him to be whipped. No, it was not spankings, as my former history professor, Fr. Frank Guest, OFM suggested, but the azote, the lash. Serra did more harm than good. He does not merit canonization. Please check out my recent article in La Prensa San Diego. And listen to the voices of the majority of Native Californians and the oral tradition of their elders. That’s the best source, not the so called…